Chapter 2 : Return

C-rank Hunter Baek Yiryeong struggled to keep his fading consciousness while catching his breath.

“Hoo… Hah.”

I knew… this would happen.

Damn it.
Dying without even getting to spend any of my savings is too unfair.

My colleagues are resisting desperately, but that too will end soon.
Their attack power was relatively weak, but whatever abilities they possessed made them tough enough to withstand even mana bombs without flinching.

‘Still. Somehow, we held on.’

There would be no civilian casualties.
A hefty bonus would probably go to my family.

That’s enough.

Just as he thought that.

-Bang!

Within his slowed vision, a heavy explosion accompanied the gunshot.

“Huh?”

With a roar, the five monsters simultaneously disintegrated into dust.

“Kweeaaak!”

The monsters’ death cries echoed in his ears.
Baek Yiryeong couldn’t help but doubt his senses for a moment.

It would make sense if an A-rank or S-rank Hunter had already arrived.
Because they would be capable of such a feat.

However…

Clearly.
The gunshot echoed not from outside the Gate, but from within.

-Thud-thud.

He saw a single figure rapidly approaching.

The dot quickly grew larger, revealing its overall outline.
It was the figure of a long-haired woman wearing dust-covered light armor.

“^@$#^!”

A monster, that’s what he should call it.
Since it came from the Gate.

But he couldn’t possibly think that way.

Ash-laden, faded silver hair and dull blue eyes.
But the desperation within them… and…

Hope.

It was a look commonly seen during the Seoul Recapture Battle back in the day.
The eyes of people who knew they were moths drawn to a flame, yet couldn’t stop themselves.

Baek Yiryeong’s eyes widened.

“…!#%^&$?”

Only then did he remember the appearance of the royal castle.
Seeing that woman, no, the ‘humanoid monster,’ brought it back clearly.

He couldn’t understand her words, but her appearance was definitely in his memory.
A memory buried for over ten years.

Amidst his completely fading consciousness, Baek Yiryeong quickly transmitted six characters containing the opponent’s information.

“…Agathe.”

Magic Marksman Agathe.

Just six characters, but the Hunter Association is competent, so they’ll understand.

No.

He was sure.
Anyone who saw those f*cking patterns in the game wouldn’t forget.

“…”

He fainted.

That’s a relief.
It seems no one has died yet.

No.
Are they really human?
Could I be mistaken?

Am I harboring futile hope again, only to despair once more?

“…It’s the Boss Monster! Ge-Get ready! Hold on just a little longer!”

What are they saying?

It sounded like words I knew, but I couldn’t remember them well.
I caught words here and there, but it wasn’t a quiet place, and the chaotic battle made it hard to hear clearly.

-Thud.

As I took a step forward with a desperate heart, fear flickered in their eyes.

…Why?

“Who… are you?”

Trying to speak the language after so long, the words didn’t come out properly.
No, the language would be different in the first place.

I’m making surprisingly frequent mistakes.
My hand trembles slightly from the turbulent emotions.

“Wh-What do we do? Hunter Baek Yiryeong is down too, how can we…”

“…Let’s slowly back away without provoking it for now. Grab Yiryeong.”

Ah.
I think I’m starting to understand their words now.
A familiar language.

Korean, my mother tongue, it seems like it.

…Korea.

A strange feeling washed over me.
Familiar emotions, separated by decades, emerged from that word.

I slowly uttered their words.
Tongue touching teeth, expelling air from my lungs through my throat, slowly.

“Ready. Little. Provoke. Back away.”

With each word I recited, the grey-toned emotions gradually returned.
Old feelings, buried deep long ago, were dragged to the surface by the sudden appearance of these people.

The words my younger self used to speak, the memories embedded within them were familiar and mundane.

The heat of summer sunlight.
The shimmering haze above the asphalt.
The sound of a piano drifting in upon waking, and the sunlight filtering through the window.

Such ordinary scenes and the banal emotions I felt back then.

But the emotion conveyed through the people’s words, so incredibly familiar.

It was an emotion utterly impossible to find in that hell.
The reunion with past memories after decades was so sudden, so dazzlingly bright.

Standing before the people fleeing from me, I could do nothing.

Merely.

Thrash about, submerged in old memories.

I was dragged into ‘Death’s Blessing’ about 20 years before the main story began.

After realizing it, I struggled desperately to change the future somehow.
Trying to save my younger sibling, Enhen, who was fated to die, finding the protagonist, the Unblessed One, and befriending him beforehand.

I saved everyone I could reach and eliminated the sources of future disasters.

Even so, it seems it wasn’t enough in the eyes of God.

Or perhaps fate truly exists.
Considering Enhen lived a little longer but ultimately died because of me.

No.
If fate existed, the protagonist wouldn’t have died like that.

Getting his heart pierced by my bullet so absurdly during a petty argument – that damned fate, if it existed, would never have allowed that.

Yes.
It’s just like that.

I did my best, but it couldn’t be helped.

Isn’t that common?
Colliding with reality.

The problem was that the reality confronting us was the end of the world.
What could I do? If I couldn’t stop it even after doing my best, I had to accept it.

Saying I felt relieved because I did my best even though I failed is a lie.
After the world ended, I was plagued by terrible guilt and emptiness.

Even if this end wasn’t a happy one, I waited, hoping I could die seeing hope upon this land.
Because Enhen and Caspar wanted that.

(TL Note: Caspar is a new name mentioned here, likely another character from Agathe’s past.)

But.
The end of my waiting was vastly different from what I had imagined.

.
.
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I thought my insides were already rotten and decayed, that nothing could be more terrible, that I couldn’t fall any lower.
I was wrong.

Just like that.
Without any reason, as if all my efforts meant nothing.

God bestowed light upon me, as if mocking me.

Enough to make me wish you were all here beside me…

Such a sweet and warm, unbelievably perfect happy ending.

Enjoying the fruit without paying a price is foolish.
But knowing this, the painful feeling doesn’t subside.

I couldn’t bring myself to step beyond the boundary line.
Though the homeland I yearned for lay beyond the circular border, homesickness had long been killed off by a greater sickness.
Lovesickness, guilt. By sicknesses like those.

A hoarse voice escaped me.
The warm light had somehow begun to feel resentful.

“If it was going to be like this.”

If it was going to be like this, why did I even try?
It would have been better to somehow survive tenaciously with my sister and lover.

Why.
Why only now?

Everyone is dead, and now only mindless monsters and the undead truly remain.

Couldn’t you have come just a little sooner?

All sorts of negative emotions boiled within me.
Even knowing they were excessive feelings, I couldn’t help it.

Like someone who winces after seeing sunlight from the darkness, it was a perfectly natural emotion for me.
Yes. There was no reason not to resent the God who bestowed nothing but curses upon us.

-Thud.

Nevertheless, I took heavy steps towards the outside of the Gate, towards my homeland.

Because that was all I had left.

At that moment.

A-rank Hunter Han Sol, on his Hunter motorcycle, chewed his lip after receiving a message from the Association.

“Ha. The Gate’s origin is presumed to be a Soulslike game. It’s definitely A-rank then.”

S-rank… it probably wouldn’t be that high.
A Gate of that magnitude wouldn’t open unless it was based on at least a mainline game, not just ‘Soulslike’.

(TL Note: “Mainline game” likely refers to a major, established franchise, implying Soulslike games are considered somewhat less significant in terms of generating powerful Gates.)

And currently, most large-scale creative works are under strict surveillance by the government and the Hunter Association.
Thanks to that, the Elden Ring DLC was postponed indefinitely.

However, among A-rank Gates, this one is likely to be tricky.

If it’s a game that was popular 10 years ago, the subconscious interpretation might have changed significantly, possibly altering it enough that old strategies won’t work, and given the Soulslike genre’s nature, the boss monster is often absurdly strong.

“Information provided by C-rank Hunter Baek Yiryeong… Ah, he was the Hunter who participated in the Seoul Recapture Battle.”

Then I can trust him.

He’s not the type to provide unconfirmed information just for some reward.

Magic Marksman Agathe… he called her.

I need to quickly skim the patterns and engage.
It’s highly likely that most of the low-rank Hunters are already dead.

-Screech.

Soldiers surrounding the Gate came into view.
Han Sol took out his ID and showed it to the soldiers, while his eyes continuously scanned the ‘strategy guide’ sent by the Association.

“Han Sol, Grade 5 Civil Servant from the Meteorological Administration and A-rank Hunter. Here for fieldwork.”

“Ah, yes. Confirmed.”

The soldiers seemed to place more weight on the title ‘A-rank Hunter’ than ‘Grade 5 Civil Servant’.
Natural, since this was a battlefield…

An A-rank Hunter belonging to the Meteorological Administration, not even the Ministry of Defense.
Of course, people like me make a living thanks to this, but the world is truly chaotic.

Han Sol sighed quietly and levitated his knife into the air.

It was time to work.

Sender: Lee Yulha, Hunter Association Temporary Strategy Compilation Department

Due to lack of time, this was roughly compiled from an old wiki. As you know, do not blindly trust the pattern section.

Name: Magic Marksman Agathe (Freischütz Agathe)

Appearance Area: Closed Mansion

Rank: HERO

A HERO rank boss from Death’s Blessing. The motif is from the famous German opera, Der Freischütz (The Marksman/The Freeshooter).

Used Patterns: Close-quarters combat, Dark Magic, Magic Bullet Shooting.

High probability of being in Phase 2 state, but confirm whether it is Phase 1 or Phase 2. If in Phase 2, there is no limit to firing Magic Bullets.

Uncertain how much is implemented, but according to lore, the Magic Bullet Shooting pattern is an unavoidable, guaranteed-hit attack. If possible, accompany healers or tanker-type Awakened individuals.

If sentient, mentioning her younger sister, Enhen, who died by the Magic Marksman’s hand, might be significant. However, be cautious as it could also have adverse effects.

Since Agathe sold her soul to a devil, there is a possibility the boss monster is the devil, not Agathe. Probability is low.

The following is copied directly from the wiki content. Recommended reading if time permits.

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Reward

Agathe’s Gun.

Appears well-maintained, but closer inspection reveals traces of attempts to destroy the gun.

In life, Agathe used only 5 Magic Bullets until adulthood.

The day after she used her 6th Magic Bullet, she used over 300 Magic Bullets to kill the entire Silver Knight Order and then committed suicide.